WWAY launching over-the-air CW affiliate

Thursday

Sep 5, 2013 at 6:07 PM

Station plans 10 p.m. newscast in 2014

By Hunter IngramHunter.Ingram@StarNewsOnline.com

The CW television network will now be available to area viewers over the air thanks to a new partnership between the network and local ABC affiliate WWAY.Starting Oct. 1, WWAY NewsChannel 3 will broadcast The CW in high definition on its digital subchannel 3.2 under the new name Cape Fear CW. Those with digital antennas and HD-ready TVs will be able to access the channel free of charge. According to Nate Galluppi, promotion director for WWAY, the launch of Cape Fear CW is the first step in "rebranding, centralizing and localizing" The CW's presence in the area."This is first time The CW will be broadcasting directly out of the Cape Fear area," said Galluppi. "If you look now, the commercials you see on other CW (providers) are for areas like Raleigh and Myrtle Beach. With this channel, the commercials will be local promotions."Local cable subscribers have been able to view The CW through The CW Plus program, which provides programming for smaller markets without their own affiliate. Local DirecTV subscribers see the Raleigh CW affiliate. Brunswick's ATMC cable subscribers see Myrtle Beach's affiliate.Beginning on WWAY's proposed launch of Oct. 1, Time Warner Cable will air Cape Fear CW instead. The specific channel assignment is to be determined. WWAY is in negotiations with other providers to bring the rebranded CW to more area customers. If negotiations are successful, Cape Fear CW would begin airing locally through those providers on Oct. 1 as well. "The end goal is to provide all five counties WWAY serves with a local CW," Galluppi said. Another plan for localizing the channel will come next year when WWAY begins airing a special newscast exclusively on the new CW at 10 p.m. "It will be a brand new news program that utilizes the same talent we already have at WWAY," Galluppi said.RetroTV, a network airing classic TV shows that now occupies channel 3.2, will move to 3.3 as early as a week before The CW launches. Next month's unveiling of Cape Fear CW comes just days before the network officially begins airing new seasons of its shows Oct. 3. Popular shows on the network include "The Vampire Diaries," "Arrow," "Hart of Dixie" and "Supernatural."The CW was formed in 2006 when former networks The WB and UPN merged. The locally filmed drama "One Tree Hill," initially a WB series, was one of the first shows to crossover to The CW. The show ran on the network for six more years.